Life is sweet, like yogurt with honey and golden raisins

Something make a note of. Most of these entries are not going to reflect the activities of that day or of the day prior, but possibly of either 2 days before or more. The reason is, after a day's activities, I am so exhausted that I simply make notes on the days going on and make the entries at a later date. So today till have a days worth of entries.

Today was a bit of slow start. We were supposed to be up by 8 in order to have breakfast and leave at latest at 10. The reason for the time restrictions were because the owners of the hotel we're staying at had offered to give a ride to the beach we were looking to visit today. However, the stipulation requested that we leave by 10. So of course, we woke up at 10:20. We ran downstairs and of course, the owners (an elderly couple that we've come to call Georgia and Georgi) were a bit pissed. I guess they didn't fancy themselves to be our personal chauffeurs and be on our time table. All in all, it was our bad. We finally got ourselves together and left. The husband (possibly our of frustration) drove extremely fast in an attempt to end all of our lives, but did not succeed. We got to the beach and commandeered 3 beach chairs. As soon as we got comfy, a very strong and slightly diesel man came over and said "3 chairs? 9 euros." I wasn't sure if he was just muscling us for our money or what, but I figured I rather enjoyed having full use of my facial muscles. We paid and he was off. It did turn out that he was part of the beach people and that it was necessary to pay him. I'll get you next time, Greek Guy...next time. We tanned, swam, and read. I have been very excited about the prospect of finally finishing a book that I've had for almost 5 or 7 years and have only gotten up to chapter 2. It seemed that anytime I made an attempt to read more or progress, something would happen and I would have to put it off for another rainy day that never came. The book is NeverWhere by Neil Gaiman. I had read his American Gods and enjoyed it so much that I got this book just because he wrote it. I had not read any reviews nor was it suggested by anyone, but I was intrigued. After some reading, we ordered snacks on the beach. We had burgers (which were more like flattened out morning sausages) and some drinks. I ordered a lemon water ice (lemon icee), which our beach waiter (affectionately named Giorgio) turned into something very sexual. He mentioned that he might be out of water ice but would try. When he returned, he gave Jenny her drink and handed me my water ice and said "And for you...water ice...lemon." And a wink. I was confused and slightly lost in his gaze. But I let it go to enjoy my frozen drink. This beach did have something in common with many of the other beaches we had been to where it was infected with perfect bodies and boobies abound. I have to admit wholeheartedly that Greece is a beautiful country with ridiculously beautiful people. The men are bronzed and cut out of stone, and the women are earth angels with green eyes and curves that would put any goddess to shame. It's a good time to be alive. We attempted to focus long enough to plan out the next few days of our adventure and did a decent job. We hanging a bit longer at the beach, we decided it was time to have an actual meal and went to a local restaurant. The restaurant was empty but was beautiful. They had a network of leaves and flowers on an arch and the tables and seats were the perfect color of soft white to that seemed to perfectly match the serenity of the beach. Our waiter was very nice and we named him something that I can't remember at the moment. We've been naming everyone. We had some more souvlaki, which we have all become very big fans of. The waiter brought us some olive paste to enjoy with the bread. While I am not a fan of olives at all, it would have been rude not to try it. So I did, and was assured that I do not like olives. I also enjoyed a local beer called Mythos. When served extremely cold, it's extremely enjoyable. Not as bitter as a Heineken with a very smooth taste to it. I believe it is technically a lager. After dinner, the waiter gave us a complimentary desert. I asked Jenny what it was, she said ice cream. My sister has lied to us ALOT on this trip. So my cousin and I were hesitant. But it seemed to be ice cream, so we scooped up some and realized that Jenny is nothing if not consistent. It was yogurt. But it was delicious so I'm not sure why my sister does the stuff she does. The honey was drizzled with amazing honey and sprinkled with golden raisins. It was a perfect blend of the tartness of the yogurt mixed with the sweetness of the honey. This was a dessert that was worthy of being considered ambrosia of the gods. When we were done, we asked our waiter how we could return to our town. He said the only way would be to walk. I asked how long the walk would be, he said about half an hour. After an hour and half later, and passing by fields of immortelle and spider-webs, we arrived back at our hotel. Prior to going in, we stopped by the car rental place and spoke to our very nice English friend Graham to make car rental arrangements. Apparently making arrangements for an automatic car are near impossible and also require more monies. I need to learn manual. When we arrived at the hotel finally, we noticed that we were not the only Americans in our hotel. The other people there seemed like the typical American bohemian hipsters who arrive in a country with one change of underwear and will try and live off of the good of people they meet and end up using their parents' credit cards to get back home. So we said hi and they ignored us so we went to our room. And in taking the high road, I began to blast Paramore and Tupac. Because that's how I do. We are now going to make True Blood attempt #2 since the other day didn't pan out and then off to bed. Night

Wow. Where to begin? Probably at the beginning. So we did decide to go out for a drink. We figured we would stay close to our hotel in case that someone (possibly Jenny) drank too much and we needed to walk back to our accommodations. We walked a bit away from the hotel and came across just darkness. We were scared that perhaps our entire town's nightlife ended at 9 pm, but we were not so easily discouraged in our search for alcohol. We searched throughout the darkness and only were able to find more and more cats. However, from that darkness came laughter and music. We followed the seductive sounds and came across a local bar. At the bar counter facing the street was a blonde girl who was having the time of her life, next to her an older very Greek gentleman, and on the other side of the bar island, 2 other people. We sat down at the end of the bar so everyone was to our right. We made with the pleasantries and ordered our drinks. Our waitress and bartender was a very young looking girl who did resemble the girl from Napoleon Dynamite, but much...cuter...and slightly hot. As soon as we sat down, the very obviously inebriated blonde young lady (20 at most) came over to us and introduced herself. Our lives would never be the same. Her name was Lolo and she had bleached blond hair with black layers underneath. It was difficult to see the black against the night that surrounded us. She demanded to know where we were from and that we had to drink. She was a lot of fun. Through the tornado that was Lolo, we learned a lot. The gentleman speaking to her was the owner of the bar, Nikos. The other people were William from Holland and Maria who was also Greek. Lolo was a prize winning and highly respected hairdresser from Sweden. Last year she had come first in hairdressing in Sweden, and 2nd place at the international competition in Melbourne, Australia. This has yet to be verified via Google. When Lolo was not drinking, or practicing her English and telling us how much she loved her new friends (us), she was singing "YOU SPIN MY HEAD RIGHT ROUND...." and...well drinking some more. She was very small and thin, but the white dress showed some stains from drinks that implied she had already thrown quite a few back. At one point, she caught eye of my sister, and her evening (and to a degree her life) came to the conclusion where everything makes sense. Jenny was her muse. She went on and on (and on) about how beautiful Jenny's hair was and how perfect it was and how she NEEDED Jenny to be her clay from which she would create her ultimate masterpiece at this year's competition in Melbourne. Now, my sister is a bit stand offish and definitely does not trust strangers enough to let them close or let them touch her hair. But compliments were now involved, and as such, all bets were off. Lolo continued to express her desire to have Jenny be the subject of her already forming visions and would not take no for an answer. Information was exchanged, and at this point, solely from the energy that Lolo exuded, we were exhausted. We had a few more drinks, called it a night and departed. We did manage to get to know Nikos, William, and Maria a bit. All were very nice and Nikos did give us some free (but rather weak) shots on the house. William had been all over South America. We had run into him on the hike over Mount Olympus previously. He looked like someone who does ALOT of walking or hiking. Maria had been to Peru once and enjoyed it verily. As we walked back, we couldn't contain our laughter and enjoyment from the amazement of meeting Lolo. She was the kind of character you see in movies and read about in books, but was too fantastic to exist within the realm of reality. We made impression and talked about her amazing closeness to Jenny (including a potty incident which shall remain in mere speculation). Normally, everyone would have guessed that I would be the one to talk up a blond at a bar. But as my friend William would say, "Que cera...cera." All in all it was an unforgettable night, thanks to a blond hurricane of happiness and Flo-Rida. Thank you, Lolo...where ever you are.



Probably still at the bar.

Sure you were swift when the handsome Greek boys dropped by with gifts...

So our newest excursion started out with me being scared for my life. I know I have a tendency to drive fast, this is public knowledge. I have topped out at about 95 mph on the Tappan Zee Bridge. So imagine how fast our driver must have been if I was scared shitless. Our driver must have thought he was in a Mercedes Benz commercial and was attempting to show off the steering and how well the car handles on a steep slope, on a mountain, with insane curves. It definitely was something that I would never forget, and ultimately have to encounter again. We had asked our dear sweet propieter at our hotel to please take our picture before leaving, but you make one joke about him taking pictures of his balls when we aren't looking and my sister is incapable of standing still. Whatevs. Though I had to remind my family that his old balls were nothing compared to the power of my "Medusa Balls". One look, and you're frozen in pure awe. We arrived (barely) in the town square of Lefkada town, surrounded by a million different shops and restaurants, many of which were Italian food. We walked the square in hopes of finding a place that called to us but ended up going in circles because we were just overwhelmed and then just lost. While looking at restaurant menus, we were abducted by an owner and pulled into his resturant to go behind hte counter and look at his food. Anyone who grabs a stranger and says "LOOK AT MY FOOD!", would prompt me to not be too enthusiastic about trying their cuisine. We declined and continued our search. When we realized that our journey was becoming tediuous, we opted to ask a local cute Greek boy who worked at a Gelato/Ice Cream shop for suggestions/directions. He ended up suggesting that we walk in the general direction of the other restaurants and that one of them should appeal to us. We ended up at a place I had already suggested earlier and finally settlled down. We at the "Grill House" and enjoyed a plentiful bounty of all kind of meats and definitely took part in the local dishes. Jenny and I had pork and chicken souvlaki and minced pork, while our cousin had lamb chops and her own version of my mom's salad. We ate and then decided that not only did we need ice cream but also another look at the handsome Greek boy. We walked to "Gelatopolis" and had some ice cream and coffee. I was curious about the "blue vanilla" but didn't get a chance to try it. When we were done we bought a calling card and called a local cab company. Due to the nature of the hour and because our driver was an older gentleman, it was a safe assumption that this ride would be much less death-defying. Apparently, I should not gamble or make such assumptions. After another re-enactment of the Indy 500, we came to a sudden and extremely unexpected stop because of the ninja-goats. I say ninja-goats because not only did theses bastard come out of no where, but as soon as we stopped, he was gone. We drove a bit down and found their dojo/headquarters. It was never clear whether they were privately owned goats or wild, but this did not take away from their ability to hide in the shadows and appear/disappear in the blink of an eye. No goats were harmed. I would have not minded to hurt a few cats. When I say there are an over abundance of cats in this town, I mean that for every human, there are 51 cats. And they hang out in gangs! I would not want to fuck with these cats. They own this town. After we reached our home in record time, we were momentarily unable to enter our abode. The door to get in is apparently cursed with Gypsy magiks. Through multiple attempts of trial and error, we finally spoke the secret words and closed the door. As we are currently deciding to go out again for drinks or not, I wonder what became of our "True Blood" night. It has yet to be decided but the fact that Jenny is currently putting on her "going out" clothes is a clear indication that a decision has been reached. I better get ready as well. I would kill for a red bull and vodka though. Let's hope I succeed.

Brown and Toned

So the "beach just up and down the hill" was not such. We literally just walked up Mount Olympus and then we walked down the other side to a beautiful private beach. Will I be doing that hike again? Possibly no. But the opportunity to have such a gorgeous beach to just to myself and my siblings (yes, Jacqueline counts as a sibling) is very tempting. Perhaps this was God's way of making me doing exercise since I've missed out on a week or so of not going to the gym. Also, apparently the exclusivity of this beach was also a big "go-ahead" to other visitors to please consider this beach a nude beach. Not cool. Until the hippie chick with a decent rack arrived, then it was minxy. After the beach, we got some food at a very quaint and nice restaurant. Jacqueline had lamb because she feels no remorse for the animals below her, Jenny had fish because she is her father's daughter, and I had salad because I wanted to have something relatively light. While we ate, we noticed the immense number of cats that ran this town. There were brown cats (cabbage cats), white cats (talking cats), and all other varieties. There was one in particular that was orange-ish. This accompanied us throughout our entire meal. Most likely because the tantalizing scent of Jacqueline's lamb. This cat was able to spark a sense of familiarity for me. I'm not sure if it was the fact that it was constantly at our side, or the way it squinted it's eyes when we started at it. But when no food was given, the cat left. We then made another trek to the more public and easily accessible beach. Since this was more family-friendly, no nudity. However, I doubt they would have minded that much. We tanned and then made our way back to the hotel. We picked up food, drinks, and ice cream. Currently we are taking turns showering before heading out to "Lefkada Town" to explore the sights and enjoy the local entertainment. I bid adieu as I drink some of my lemonade fanta and enjoy my candy.

Piu greca d'italiana

So we've arrived in Lefkada. It is currently 11:10 am on June 3rd. In NY it is 4:11 am. By Greek time, we've traveled for almost 2 days. The place we are staying is a beautiful hotel with a nice country-side/rustic feel to it. It's almost scary how Greek it is. It's not the Greece you see in a movie with ABBA songs or Alexis Bledel, but its EXTREMELY close. We've become very close and familiar with the owners. Which makes me nervous because people are not meant to be so nice. It is a bit overcast today so we may not hit up the beach, but we will walk around in hopes that it gets warmer. My dear sweet cousin likes to sit on my bed with me, not because she enjoys my company, but because that's where the WI-FI is strongest. Rotten bastard. And of course, my darling sister is determined to be at the beach. Not necessarily in the water, but at the beach. I think she missed her calling as some kind of tropical lifeguard. Thankfully, our collective lack of Greek has not proven too much of a hindrance. Most places have some knowledge of English and the ones that don't, we've been able to make ourselves understood. For example, by pointing at the chicken and spaghetti, we are able to explain, "We want chicken and spaghetti and not the roast lamb and vegetables of indeterminable origin." Pictures are to come, but please have some patience because the camera I am using only allows for so many pictures before having to empty out the memory card and the quality won't be as amazing as anything you are used to. That's this for this entry. I simply wanted to update and catalog our trip so far, and being that we've been blessed with the gift of the internets, it was a perfect opportunity. And now, like the clothes on Greek men, we're off.

I'm just a little black rain cloud...

So I am completely unprepared for my trip this weekend. I was supposed to use these past few days to pack and organize and simply get myself together in order to make the most of the next few days. I ended up watching Screw Attack videos about old school games and their Top 10's. I still consider it a very productive few days. I will be taking more than I initially thought because of the weather. Being someone who gets very emotionally affected by the weather, the best way to deal is to be prepared. I believe it was clinically diagnosed as variation of "Seasonal Affective Disorder" because the depressed mode is stronger and more frequent during the rain and winter. So I will be bringing with me books, comics, toys, electronics, lappytop, and possibly even my PS3. Times like these, I do miss my meds a bit. Just because they did kind of balance out everything a bit, whereas now, it takes effort. I've often been told that I pack too much, and given the amount of distractions and entertainment that the internet and the world at large provide, one would think that not much else is needed. However, when you also have been clinically diagnosed with having ADD (though I still call bullshit on that one), you need options. I will see my trip as a sort of test. To be on my own, to be my own support, and to push past the weather in order to just enjoy my time away from everything. If all goes well, this trip will be done again in nicer weather. I will make a strong attempt to also update this blog during my trip to keep you afloat of my adventures and to have a record of my actions prior to my being arrested. Thank you.